The environment for women on the Dallas Mavericks’ business side was described as “Animal House” or like a Mad Men episode. One employee reportedly watched porn at work and showed the pictures to co-workers. Reports of misogyny and predatory sexual behavior ran wild, and if women wanted to report it, well, former Mavericks CEO Terdema Ussery was one of the worst offenders, and the head of human resources was just trying to cover it all up.
Franchise owner Mark Cuban said he was unaware, and now that lack of knowledge of what was going on under his own roof going to cost him. A lot.
When all of this became public, started by a Sports Illustrated investigation, the Mavericks hired an independent investigator and that was overseen by the league, not the team. The results of that were released in a report Wednesday, along with the restrictions on the Mavericks.
Cuban will contribute $10 million to “organizations that are committed to supporting the leadership and development of women in the sports industry and combating domestic violence.”
In addition, Dallas must:
• Provide the league office with quarterly reports regarding the recommendations outlined in the report and their implementation;
• Immediately report to the league office any instances or allegations of significant misconduct by any employee;
• Continually enhance and update annual “Respect in the Workplace” training for all staff, including ownership; and
• Implement a program to train all staff, including ownership, on issues related to domestic violence, sexual assault, and sexual harassment.
“The findings of the independent investigation are disturbing and heartbreaking and no employee in the NBA, or any workplace for that matter, should be subject to the type of working environment described in the report,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “We appreciate that Mark Cuban reacted swiftly, thoroughly and transparently to the allegations first set forth in Sports Illustrated – including the immediate hiring of Cynthia Marshall as CEO to effect change, but as Mark has acknowledged, he is ultimately responsible for the culture and conduct of his employees. While nothing will undo the harm caused by a select few former employees of the Mavericks, the workplace reforms and the $10 million that Mark has agreed to contribute are important steps toward rectifying this past behavior and shining a light on a pervasive societal failing -- the inability of too many organizations to provide a safe and welcoming workplace for women.”
Cuban had already hired Cynthia Marshall as a new CEO, and she implemented a massive overhaul to improve the organization’s workplace culture. The league requirements primarily follow up to make sure those steps take place and the situation is not allowed to slide back.
Cuban himself, however, was not aware of the situation, according to the report. From the NBA: “The investigators found no evidence that Mr. Cuban was aware of Mr. Ussery’s misconduct. None of the 215 witnesses who were interviewed stated that they informed Mr. Cuban of Mr. Ussery’s actions, the investigators found no documentary evidence of such a communication, and Mr. Cuban stated that he did not know about the conduct.”
The NBA did not take away draft picks from the Mavericks, keeping the penalties on the business side. The reports showed that the basketball operations side — including players and coaches — were not part of the problem and were not accused of harassment.
But there was plenty of harassment on the business side. From the NBA:
• The investigation substantiated numerous instances of sexual harassment and other improper workplace conduct within the Mavericks organization over a period spanning more than twenty years.
• That included improper workplace conduct toward fifteen female employees by the Mavericks’ former President and CEO Terdema Ussery, including inappropriate comments, touching, and forcible kissing.
• Two acts of domestic violence perpetrated by former Mavs.com reporter Earl Sneed, including one against a team employee.
• That there was a “lack of internal controls” and that “the Mavericks executive leadership team failed to respond adequately” to multiple situations.
That this was allowed to go on is despicable. You can be sure it had 29 other NBA teams looking at their business and making sure any issues were dealt with fast.
